Man says he gave away his expensive season tickets to a coworker. Three weeks later, he realizes the winner was in Vegas instead of the stadium

A Denver Broncos fan is questioning whether he went too far after demanding that a coworker hand over the money he made by selling two expensive NFL tickets he had won in an office contest. What was supposed to be a free opportunity to enjoy a big game turned apparently into an awkward workplace dispute after the ticket winner admitted he had sold them to help pay for a trip to Las Vegas.

The man, who said he’s been a Broncos season ticket holder for decades, shared his experience in a Reddit post, claiming that he occasionally cannot attend games because of other commitments. Rather than letting the tickets go to waste, he reportedly started giving them away to coworkers through friendly office competitions.

According to the post, he typically invites around 50 colleagues, with approximately 30 people participating in each contest. The winner gets two tickets, which are particularly valuable because the seats are on the lower level near the 40-yard line.

He sold the tickets for a large amount

However, he has one condition for anyone entering the competition. He makes it clear that the tickets are meant to be used by the winner rather than resold for profit. “If you plan to just sell the tickets if you win, please do not participate, as I could just sell them myself,” he explained in the contest invitation. He asserted that his goal was to give someone the experience of attending a game rather than simply handing them money.

The latest incident happened when the man apparently had to travel to attend a relative’s wedding and couldn’t make it to the game. He organized another contest a few weeks beforehand, which was allegedly won by a coworker he referred to as Joe.

After sending Joe the digital tickets, the man wished him a good time at the game. The matchup reportedly turned out to be an exciting one, and he even texted Joe and said, “Wow, you got to go to an amazing game!” The user didn’t get any response until late that night, when Joe reportedly wrote back, “Yeah, it was fun! Thanks man!”

The user claimed that later he heard something unexpected from another colleague, who mentioned that “Didn’t Joe win your tickets for the Chiefs game?” When the user replied in the affirmative, the colleague allegedly mentioned: “Well, he was just talking about how he was in Vegas with his girlfriend this weekend.”

When the user reportedly confronted Joe and asked whether he had actually attended the game, the coworker immediately admitted that he had sold the tickets instead. “And to his credit, he owned up immediately to selling the tickets — didn’t try to deny it — but I was pissed,” the post read.

Joe initially hesitated to reveal how much he had made, but eventually acknowledged that he had “pocketed over $800. Which, apparently, he used to cover most of the plane tickets and hotel costs for his Vegas weekend.” The user was reportedly furious, reminding Joe that he had specifically prohibited participants from entering if they intended to resell the tickets.

Joe allegedly argued that the tickets became his property once he won them and that he was entitled to do whatever he wanted with them. The user apparently disagreed, arguing that Joe had knowingly entered a competition despite understanding the conditions attached to the prize. He subsequently told his coworker that he expected him to repay the money he had received from the sale.

He also warned Joe that refusing to do so would damage their relationship, permanently exclude him from future ticket giveaways, and lead to other coworkers being informed about what had happened. According to Colorado Lawyer, oral agreements can be legally enforceable even when they are not documented in a formal written contract.

Courts generally recognize oral contracts when both parties have a clear understanding of the terms and the agreement is supported by consideration. In this case, the coworker’s knowledge of the no-resale condition before entering the ticket giveaway could be relevant in determining whether he agreed to those terms. If the arrangement qualifies as an enforceable agreement, selling the tickets despite that condition could potentially constitute a breach of contract.